Everyone needs to read this. Credit is given to mxz440fan from sharingthegroove.org and amidreaming.org for putting this together.

DVD Trading Etiquette
Remember, since video taping is frowned upon by DMB...dvd trading is an extremely gray topic. Please respect any and all DVDs that you aquire, purchase the live releases, and as always: support the band in anyway possible, be it t-shirts, concert tickets, CDs, etc...
DVDs are made by the fans for the fans and should be viewed as an enhancement of the experience of live shows, NOT a replacement.

While similar in many ways to the audio trading there are some fundemental differences that newbie traders seem to completely be unaware of. With that in mind...please people, if you're new, know the rules before attempting to aquire fanshot DVDs.

The biggest breech of etiquette I've seen lately is as follows:
The two week rule does not apply to DVDs. DVDs require a much longer conversion (remember, the authors are converting 8+ GB of material, not 900mb), as well as the synching of audio to the video. Also, since video taping is condemned at concerts, and cameras dont just grow on the seats it is common for tapers to not release DVDs until the tour is over out of respect for the other tapers.

So, now come the rules:

-Do not ask for a DVD until:
(1) the tour is over
or
(2) The DVD has shown up as "available" at DMB DVD Central
Under no circumstances should an author/taper be contacted about the release of a DVD before they say it is finished and ready to be spread.

-You do not need a particular DVD. You need air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, and you need to learn some respect.

-If a B&P is for 5 and you're the 6th, do not post or leave a message saying, "if there's still room... can i get in?" The B&P is closed. For those people that do not know how to count, get in on the next offer. DVDs take much longer to burn then CDs (an average 4X 4.7GB dvd will take about 12-13 minutes to burn. Please note that shows tend to take up 2 dvds).

-Similarly, do not send extra DVDs expecting them to be burnt. If you want to send an extra as a precaution just in case one disc fails, fine, don't ask for it to be burnt.

-If it takes you 2 weeks to ship your discs out, do not expect the B&Per to return them within 2 weeks. If you are delayed for ANY reason contact the B&Per as soon as possible. That way, at least they know when to expect the discs (if at all). You're always better off being honest.

-DVD trading is ALWAYS 1:1. DVDs are not to be sold. Ever. No exceptions.

-The quality of different brands of DVDs varies greatly. Send similar quality discs when trading. The most trusted brands appear to be Fuji, TDK, and Ritek. Any questions regarding quality of discs/burners are answered at dvdrhelp.com

(videohelp.com is a direct link to the same site).

-Do not send 1x or 2x discs unless you ask the B&Per first. 2x discs take twice as long as 4x discs to burn (about 21-22 minutes a disc), and its a pain waiting for them to finish. Also, make sure you know what type(s) of DVDs the B&Per can burn. While most people nowadays have dual format (+ and -), some people can only burn DVD+R's and some people can only burn DVD-R's, act and send disc-types accordingly.

-All ripping of discs should be done with DVD Decrypter (free). For those of you familiar with the audio trading it is the EAC of the DVD world. Nero and Roxio (Toast for mac) are the most popular burning programs.

-If you plan on torrenting a particular DVD be sure to rip the VIDEO_TS folder, do not create an .iso. Any potential coseeders are more likely to match up video_ts files then an image file.

-Verify all discs after burning, send in a bubble mailer, and send in CD/DVD sleeves (not jewel cases).

-The accepted DVD:Audio ratio is around 1:6. This is due to the added costs of DVDs and the length of time required to burn. However, never assume someone will trade for audio, because most traders won't.

-If you're interested in the quality of DVDs you can look at the screens on DMB DVD Central and also read reviews at DMB DVD Review

-NEVER convert a video down to SVCD or VCD. Even if it is for "personal use". Theres no reason to. Ever. Get a DVD burner, they're $50, support the economy and do yourself a favor at the same time.

-If you must watch a downloaded DVD and don't have a burner both WinDVD and PowerDVD can play the .vob files inside of the included VIDEO_TS folder.

Please let me know if I left anything out/should take anything out.

Big thanks to molo41, bbycrei, dirwin, and Phoenix44 for helping with the editing, ambysshrink for being a douschebag while I wrote it, and to the tapers everwhere.